Catamenial tampons and other types of absorptive media are routinely inserted into body cavities, such as a woman's vagina, to absorb menstrual fluid, blood and other kinds of body fluid. One convenient way to position such absorbent tampons into a body cavity is through the use of an applicator. Comfortable and clean insertion of the absorbent tampon are keys to repeated sale of such applicators.
Tampon applicators are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. One piece and two piece applicators are known, with the two piece telescopically assembled design being the most prevalent. The one piece applicator consists of a hollow tube which houses an absorbent tampon. The applicator is designed to have the user insert the tube into her vagina and then use one of her fingers to expel the tampon into her vagina. In the two piece tampon applicator, the tampon is housed in an outer tube and is expelled into a woman's vagina by an inner member which is telescopically mounted therein and acts as a plunger.
Some tampon applicators utilize a hollow tube having an open insertion end through which the tampon is always exposed while other applicators utilize a completely closed or partially closed design. The partially or fully closed insertion tips are preferred, for they facilitate insertion of the outer tube into the woman's vagina and also prevent premature contamination of the absorbent tampon. The insertion tip can be formed from a thin film membrane or consist of a plurality of flexible petals, folds or pleats. The petals and pleats are formed on the forward end of the outer tube and are designed to flex radially outward to allow the tampon to be expelled. It will be appreciated that the diameter of the applicator, the material from which it is formed, the basic configuration of the applicator, the size and shape of the tampon positioned in the applicator, as well as the ease of opening the forward end of the applicator will all influence the force required to expel the tampon therefrom. The expulsion force should be kept reasonably low to permit proper functioning of the applicator.
While many have tried to design and manufacture tampon applicators which are more comfortable to use, there still remains a need for a more comfortable tampon applicator. One way to manufacture a more comfortable tampon applicator is to reduce the force required to expel a tampon through the insertion tip.
Now a tampon applicator has been invented having an insertion tip which requires a minimum amount of force to expel a tampon through it. The invention also relates to an apparatus and method of reducing the force required to expel a catamenial tampon through the insertion tip.